Hanabi
- Publisher:
- Routledge
- Publication Type:
- Chapter
- Citation:
- Introducing Japanese Popular Culture, 2018, pp. 335-347
- Issue Date:
- 2018-01-02
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| Filename | Description | Size | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13012023093723-0001.pdf | Published version | 10.24 MB |
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This chapter argues that many of hanabi's cultural nuances, communal uses, spatial associations, and symbolic meanings began in the Edo period and that hanabi demonstrates how this historical era still influences Japanese daily life and popular culture. In the Edo period, fireworks evolved from a simple amusement into a technologically advanced art form, distinctive culture, and potent symbol. Fireworks festivals are held all over Japan especially in the summer, forming a "hanabi season," and provide a reprieve from the formalities of everyday life, a communal celebratory space, and a chance for friendly competition. A distinct hanabi culture evolved at Ryogoku during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, adding to the resplendence of Edo. The chapter examines popular music and commercial film, two dominant mass-market media, to show how the meanings of hanabi in the Edo period have been extended in the twenty-first century.
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